The Kapitan Khlebnikov was built in Finland for the Soviet Union in 1981. She is a Kapitan Sorokin class icebreaker, and she uses diesel fuel. Her main engines produce 24.200 horsepower. In her early days she serviced ports in Northern Russia and Siberia, maintaining supplies during the winter months.
Since her refitting in 1990, she has been a research vessel, a charter vessel for scientific research and an expedition ship for tourists. In July 2008, she was operated by Quark Expeditions as you can see in the writing on the side of the vessel. Do you see the yellow jackets on some of the passengers on deck? Those are Quark Expedition parkas, and I have a few of my own now.
The Kapitan Khlebnikov is a world traveler. She is found in the Arctic during boreal summers and crosses the equator for voyages in Antarctic during austral summers. She was the first ship to carry passengers on an Antarctic circumnavigation. She has also sailed south to the Bay of Whales at 78° 40.871 South, matching the record for a surface vessel.
She is owned by the Far East Shipping Company, FESCO. Her home port is Vladivostok.